Egypt and Kazakhstan agree to boost economic ties

(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) Egypt is keen to boost economic ties with Kazakhstan, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said Friday during his visit there.

In a meeting with Kazakhstani president Nursultan Nazarbaye , Al-Sisi said Egypt is looking forward to increasing the number of Kazakhstani tourists visiting Egypt after they launch a direct airline between Cairo and Astana from March.

Nazarbayev said he will encourage his citizens to visit Egypt, owing to its historical importance and great civilisation, according to a statement released by the presidency spokesperson.

Al-Sisi said Egypt is also looking forward to benefiting from Kazakhstan's experience in changing the location of the capital since Egypt is planning to build a new city. Nazarbayev said Egypt is the keystone of the stability in the Middle East and praised the Egyptian efforts to achieve peace in the region.

Both leaders discussed further economic collaboration especially regarding food security and the agriculture sector. They also agreed on the capability of integration between Kazakhstani Light Rail Transit (LRT) project and the development project in Suez Canal.

Al-Sisi and Nazarbayev emphasised the importance of confronting Islamophobia by spreading the "true Islam and its tolerant values". Al-Sisi praised Kazakhstan's initiative of holding the "Religions Against Terrorism" conference in 2016.

In a separate meeting with Kazakhstani Prime Minister Karim Massimov, Al-Sisi said Egypt welcomes Kazakhstani investments especially in the Suez Canal area. Both sides agreed to establish a joint committee to review all plans of the prospective projects. Massimov praised the Egyptian efforts in fighting terrorism.

In his speech Saturday in Nazarbayev University, Al-Sisi said Egypt is relying on its partners in the international community to prevent terrorism from benefiting from modern information technology.

"The information revolution undoubtedly contributed to giving new dimensions to this terrorism phenomenon " which requires serious efforts to prevent terror groups from using these technologies," Al-Sisi said.

The Muslim world must work together to launch initiatives to fight the terrorism ideas, Al-Sisi said. In his speech attended by the joint Egyptian-Kazakhstani business council, Al-Sisi said both countries are interesting in increasing investments owing to "the number of investment opportunities for both of them". He said the new investment law removes many barriers facing new investors in Egypt.